Go to page

It's nice. You just have to understand your tools and choose correctly. The Bose L1s have very wide dispersion, making them ideal for the long side of a rectangular room. They also look beautiful for weddings and corporate events. However, they also have their downsides. There are a lot of pieces to carry and set up for the Bose L1s, as opposed to a quick speaker on a stick. The Bose L1s are a little finicky on how they should be set up for gain structure. If you want high SPL, go for a different system. I have four B1 bass bins, but sometimes they don't seem to have that low end that I want to feel. (Though they have the bigger B2s out there now, I haven't tried them.)

These are the rare Bose L1 Classics, with more power output than its cousins. Too bad that it is now out of warranty, and I am considering getting a new system to replace this. In the meantime, I use them more for echo-canyon venues and really-wide rooms where I need more clarity for toasts and speeches.

Interesting. When they first came out a few years back, an associate of mine got one. On a stage, it takes a lot of real estate. And we used the Bose L1 as a "PA" in a pinch at an event, and I wasn't too impressed. But they do have quite a spread/throw, and I imagine two of them could be just the ticket in the right room.

I tried using the Bose L1 Classics as PA for my band. I wasn't impressed either. Not enough SPL for my taste. Definitely use at least two-- one will cover an acoustic solo instrument or speeches, but you need more power for DJ music. Again, there are limitations to these great-looking speakers. Although I will reserve these L1s for specific venues and events, there are times when I just prefer the versatility and simplicity of conventional speaker systems. I am seriously considering the RCF EVOX series to replace these Bose L1s perhaps next year.

Well, when I looked at the Bose literature, they were actually recommending that each member in a, say, six-piece outfit each have his or her own Bose L1 set-up, to act as stage monitor, personal amplification/backline, and replace(?) a conventional PA set-up. To me, this is madness, as most of the stages I've played on wouldn't accommodate two of those, let alone six or seven! Plus, how do you monitor the rest of the band/other inputs? If somehow you were playing the perfect venue with the right size stage where you could magically hear everyone else with a perfect environmental mix, I guess it might work (lol). But for your smaller DJ set-up, they definitely look nice. If they work in the right rooms, "why not?"